I hope to be able to attend.. Just need to confirm work schedual in a few weeks.. Sounds like a great time.. I'm only a few hours away from the plant so I will probably come up on Sat and stay until Sun..Do we know where the evening events will be held yet.. Sorr i tried to skim all the posts, i'm a little late to the dance..

Ichigo - Yeah, Japan would be a major road trip. I'm rather looking forward to the day. I spent some time in Japan in the mid 70's (Yokuska, Yokohoma, Tokyo) and was impressed all around. I got my first start in audio at that time; had access to a plethora of electronic stores...Pioneer, Marantz, Teac, Kenwood & Techniques were big. I had all my gear shipped over here and still have it in excellent condition. Pioneer SX-850 stero receiver and Sansui floor stander speakers. My pioneer PL-550 turntable however needs a little work but functional. I climbed Mt. Fuji btw, rather awesome experience.

Speaking about Japan (Nipon), I had a rather unique experience once. In the 70's on a military flight we made a refueling stop in a Tokyo airport and I noticed that the effect of my deodorant was starting to go away, so I bought some spray-on stuff and washed up and used it. Then on the way to the boarding area we had to pass in front of dogs that smelled for drugs, and one of the dogs started barking on me, which I'm attributing to the freshly sprayed deodorant. I was then ushered into a restroom where they performed a strip search on me and went through all of my baggage. Finding nothing I was returned to the boarding area where everyone kept a suspicious eye on me.